Gambia: No immunity for Jammeh as ECOWAS forces secure Banjul for Barrow’s arrival

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West African leaders did not agree to grant Yahya Jammeh any immunity during negotiations that convinced Gambia’s long time ruler to flee into exile, Senegal’s foreign minister said on Sunday.

Mr. Jammeh, who is accused of serious rights violations, led his country for 22 years but refused to accept defeat in a December election. He flew out of the capital Banjul late on Saturday as a regional military force was poised to remove him.

The peaceful end to the impasse will allow opposition figure Adama Barrow, who was sworn in as president at Gambia’s embassy in neighbouring Senegal on Thursday, to take office.

Jammeh’s decision to step down has prompted speculation over the terms agreed during two days of negotiations led by Guinea’s President Alpha Conde and Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania.

“President Jammeh and his team concocted a declaration to be endorsed by (regional bloc) ECOWAS, the United Nations and the African Union that gave him every guarantee, essentially impunity,” Mankeur Ndiaye said.

“This declaration was signed by no one.”

The foreign minister made his comments after the AU and the UN published a joint declaration from the three bodies “with the purpose of reaching a peaceful resolution to the political situation in The Gambia.”

In it, they pledged, among other things, to protect Mr. Jammeh’s rights “as a citizen, a party leader and a former Head of State,” to prevent the seizure of property belonging to him and his allies, and to ensure he can eventually return to Gambia.

However, Mr. Ndiaye played down the significance of the document.

“I want to be clear on the fact that no ECOWAS head of state validated this declaration,” said Mr. Ndiaye, who added that Mr. Barrow had not been made aware of the document before its publication.

TROOPS BEING DEPLOYED

Mr. Jammeh’s loss in a December 1 poll and his initial acceptance of the result were celebrated across the tiny nation by Gambians grown weary of his increasingly authoritarian rule. But he reversed his position a week later, creating a standoff with regional neighbours who demanded he step down.

Rights groups accuse him of jailing, torturing and killing his political opponents while acquiring a vast fortune – including luxury cars and an estate in the United States – as most of his people remained impoverished.

Mr. Jammeh flew to Equatorial-Guinea with a brief stopover in Guinea’s capital Conakry, the office of Guinea’s President Conde said on Sunday.

West African troops from Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana and Mali were deploying in Gambia on Sunday as part of efforts to secure the country and allow Barrow to take charge.

“We will look for arms caches and detect mercenaries, so that we can restore calm,” Marcel de Souza, president of the ECOWAS commission, told reporters overnight.

“Adama Barrow hopes to go back as quickly as possible.”

A Reuters witness on Sunday saw war planes flying over the capital Banjul, which remained calm despite some concern over how the army, a pillar of Mr. Jammeh’s regime, would react to his departure.

The full entry of the troops was caused by controversy over the assurances offered to Mr. Jammeh to guarantee his exit, Africa Review reports.

Mr. Jammeh flew out of The Gambia on Saturday, ending 22 years at the helm of the west African nation, and landed in Equatorial Guinea a few hours later where he is expected to settle with his family.

The Senegalese general leading a joint force of troops from five African nations said soldiers had nonetheless entered The Gambia to “control strategic points to ensure the safety of the population and facilitate… Barrow’s assumption of his role.”

A convoy crossed the frontier on Sunday morning, which would leave them several hours to reach Banjul.

Senegalese forces had briefly crossed into the former British colony on Thursday but pulled out shortly afterwards, with Sunday’s troop movement the first by soldiers from the joint force.

Marcel Alain de Souza, a top official with the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), which organised the deployment, said pro-Jammeh elements and mercenaries remained on the ground and had open fired as troops crossed the border.

“They were neutralised,” he said in a statement, without elaborating.

Mr. De Souza said the country “could not be left open” for long, however, and that President Barrow must be in place “as soon as possible”.

“A country must have a government, but the security conditions required the troops we have sent to secure Banjul and other towns,” he said.

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Once again, kudos to ECOWAS for sending that cl0wn into exile to the disappointment of the myopic Nigerians, starting from EkwereIdi0t to the online e-rats, asking asking for dialogue with an election loser ! Don’t be surprised if in two years, they start praising the Jammeh criminal for leaving power “peacefully”.

Julius

I said the so called agreement would not hold even if there is one. Here we go !!

Peter_Edo

I am convinced that Mohammed Buhari will face the music in 2019 when his term expires. With no immunity he will have to account for the people he murdered in cold blood and buried in mass graves such as

— 276 IPOB protesters killed and buried by Nigerian Army of which he gave the orders
— 378 Shiite Muslims murdered and buried by Nigerian Army

Both incidents were confirmed by Amnesty Int’l with video evidence.

Africans must learn to impose death sentence of killer presidents and seizure of their loot when they live office.

paul irumundomon

he will fight to death than to accept defeat.

Obiejesi Chukwunaeme Kingsley

No wahala….. so be it

Ferra Realman

@Peter-edo stop being cyanic, IPOB is dead and buried cause they dont have unity, not even common leaders with unique aim. Shiite you mentioned is becoming terrorist organization and no responsible leader will fold his arms and be looking like jona that is just getting wise now according to his father OBJ. Era of recklessness, impunity, lawlessness etc is gone for good. Baba is for masses and will win for as long as he contest.

Observer

UNDER THE CURRENT INTERNATIONAL LAW MUHAMADU BUHARI COULD
SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE IN JAIL AT THE HAGUE FOR GENOCIDE
PROVED BY CORPSES OF THOSE 378 SHIITES IN MASS GRAVES.

Rommel

Buhari will easily win 2019 elections

Obiejesi Chukwunaeme Kingsley

My brother wake up

kinsly

He gave the orders to you,abi? Drunkard!

Fofona Frey

DEAR SIR,

Lies, lies, lies! Marcel Alain de Souza, a top official with the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which organized deployment
of Ecowas troops, lied all the way to newsmen create a sense of valour where none
exists. Ex-President Jammeh never instructed his border guards to fire, he never
placed mercenaries at the border with Senegal, he never ordered Gambian Army
to shoot at Ecowas troops. This fact was stated three days ago by Gambian Army
Chief who told the media that if Ecowas troops arrived in Gambia’s capital, “he
would serve them tea” and simply surrender rather than put his soldiers in harm’s
way. Marcel Alain de Souza of Ecowas therefore told a lie from the pit of hell that
Ecowas troops faced mercenaries at the border with Senegal and killed all the
mercenaries. Lies, lies, lies!!!

kinsly

Fofana or internet troll, just shut up. Were you with the ECOWAS troops at the border? Or do we believe an internet troll like you instead of the Official ECOWAS commission Chairman?

Tommy Soto

News reports are coming in that Jammeh cleaned out the national treasury before he left office like someone else we know did not too long ago.

……

Defeated Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh made off with government money, luxury cars

Troops arrive to secure West African country for newly inaugurated President Adama Barrow

Exiled Gambian ruler Yahya Jammeh stole millions of dollars in his final weeks in power, plundering the state coffers and shipping out luxury vehicles by cargo plane, a special adviser for the new president said Sunday.

?????????

@tommysoto:disqus

WHAT WILL ECOWAS DO WHEN THE SUPREME COURT LATER DECLARES THAT
THE GAMBIA ELECTION WAS INDEED RIDDLED WITH IRREGULARITIES SO MUCH
THAT TWO SEPARATE AND CONTRADICTORY RESULT SHEETS WERE ISSUED
AND SIGNED BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO MAKE THE ELECTION VOID?

Erico333

Hahahahaha! That na double wahala for dead body O. That means Ecowas will go
to Malabo to bring back Jammeh as the president and threaten to invade Gambia if the
new president – Barrow – does not quit office within 48 hours after Supreme Court order.